Popovich looks forward after Finals heartbreak

Without fail, Gregg Popovich’s season-ending press sessions are light and low-key affairs. This time he even thanked the local media for all their work this season — albeit not without a trace of trademark sarcasm, teasing a veteran reporter about the non-existent file he maintains for all the works written about the Spurs.

“I read every one of them, I swear,” he teased. “I read them all.”

But Saturday’s gathering was not all wisecracks. With key players Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter entering free agency, the Spurs face major questions about their future composition.

Even bigger than that, they’ve only just begun to cope with the title they just squandered, mere seconds away from finishing Miami off in Game 6 of the Finals before falling in the final minute of Game 7.

“We’re all hurting because we had an opportunity to win the championship right in the palm of our hands,” he said. “It didn’t happen. That hurts. It will dissipate over time. But right now it hurts everyone to varying degrees.”

Part of the sting was alleviated upon arriving home yesterday, where scores of fans gathered to greet them at the airport.

“I’ll be honest, the first feeling I had was embarrassment,” Popovich said. “We wanted to bring it home for them so badly, you’re just embarrassed we didn’t get it done. And then as you look at them all, and they just keep cheering. You really felt the love and the way they care for these guys and their team. Then it did make it easier.”

But there is no rest for the weary, or the heartbroken. The Spurs brain trust will immediately move into the next stage of their schedule, with final preparations for Thursday’s draft, the start of free agency on July 1 and Summer League in Las Vegas several weeks after that.

Popovich was coy regarding details. “Ask R.C. (Buford, general manager)” was his basic response to questions about cap space and any European prospects who might be prepared to join the Spurs. But he did say fans probably shouldn’t expect a major face lift, even with as many as seven players entering free agency, and Matt Bonner’s 2013/14 contract becoming fully guaranteed at the end of the month.

“People have been telling us we need to get younger 15 years ago,” he said. “At one point I guess we will be too old. Who knows when that is? Going to the conference finals last year and the Finals this year proves something is going right. I think we’ll just stay on course with the way we do things.”

Having seen his team progress from a first-round upset to coming within seconds of their fifth championship over the past three campaigns, Popovich said he’s confident the Spurs, regardless what changes are or aren’t made, will be motivated to contend against next season.

“(This year) reminded me, and Timmy (Duncan) and Tony (Parker) and Manu (Ginobili) again, we forgot how hard it is to get there,” he said. “It took forever to play all those games. So that was a big revelation for us. We just whipped through it in the past. This year, it was like, ‘My gosh, did we really do this four times?’

“So why not try to do it again? That’s what we’re here for. We will or we won’t, but we’ll certainly give it our best effort.”

Leonard, who averaged 14.6 points and 11.1 rebounds in the Finals, has been dealing with soreness after tendinitis in his left quadriceps forced him to miss 18 games from mid-November to mid-December.

“It’s obviously an honor to be involved with USA Basketball in any way shape or form,” Popovich said. “He’s thrilled with the selection, but we need to talk to the doctors and make sure he’s able to do it.”

Popovich also took another opportunity to praise Leonard, envisioning a larger role in his third NBA season.

“That’s a really happy story,” he said. “He’s basically a senior in college, and he went through the Finals as if he was going to HEB to pick up dinner. He was unbelievable. I don’t even call plays for him, and you see what he can do out on the court. He’s just feeling his way. He’ll be getting the ball more and more as time goes on.”